The Putnam Museum and Science Center will open its newest exhibit this weekend, Tails from Tales: Storybook Beasts!
This exhibit brings the nostalgia of all your favorite children’s stories to life with animals from the Putnam’s collection. Some of the stories that will be featured are The Mitten by Jan Brett, The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling, and Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile by Bernard Waber, plus many other childhood favorites, according to a Wednesday Putnam release.
The exhibit will feature a reading nook with copies of books so visitors will be able to relax and read an old childhood favorite or discover a new favorite book during their visit. The museum (1717 W. 12th St., Davenport) has partnered with 19 local artists to create works of art that are inspired by 19 great storybooks, old and new.
These artworks will be on display throughout the duration of the exhibit – Saturday, Nov. 18 through May 28, 2024.
“The support and interest that the Putnam received to be a part of this exhibit by the artistic community in the Quad Cities was overwhelming and we are so grateful to be able to work with these incredible talents to create something special and memorable for our community,” the Putnam release says.
In conjunction with the “Tails from Tales” opening Saturday, there will be a free showing of the 2022 movie Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile at 2 p.m.
This book is featured in the exhibit, and the film celebrates everything that is wonderful about this childhood classic, the Putnam said.
Tails from Tales: Storybook Beasts is a Putnam Museum original exhibit curated by Christine Chandler, Curator of Natural Sciences at the Putnam. This exhibit will be included in general admission to the museum — which is $12 for adults and $10 for children.
Brett in Davenport Dec. 2
Jan Brett, the acclaimed New York Times bestselling author-illustrator, beloved for her picture book classics like Gingerbread Baby and The Mitten, will visit Davenport Public Library at Eastern on Dec. 2.
At 10 a.m., Brett will do a 20-30 minute drawing presentation followed by a book signing. Prairie Lights Books will have books to purchase at the event. All ages are encouraged to attend, attendees will receive a free signed Jan Brett poster while supplies last.
Along with meeting Jan Brett, families are encouraged to meet Hedgie, Jan’s favorite friend from The Mitten and The Hat, and pose for a photo-op with Jan’s Winter Wonderland tour bus.
Registration is not required but encouraged. Registration is free and attendees will receive reminders and updates via email. For more information or to register, visit the library website HERE.
With over 41 million books in print, Jan Brett is one of the nation’s foremost author illustrators of children’s books. She lives in a seacoast town in Massachusetts, close to where she grew up. During the summer, her family moves to a home in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts.
As a child, Brett decided to be an illustrator and spent many hours reading and drawing. She said, “I remember the special quiet of rainy days when I felt that I could enter the pages of my beautiful picture books. Now I try to recreate that feeling of believing that the imaginary place I’m drawing really exists. The detail in my work helps to convince me, and I hope others as well, that such places might be real.”
For more information, visit her website HERE.
